The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday in its Job Openings
& Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) that the September job openings
rate slipped to 2.6% from a revised 2.7%. It still was improved versus the
recession low of 1.6%. The job openings rate is the number of job
openings on the last business day of the month as a percent of total
employment plus job openings. The actual number of job openings fell
2.7% to 3,561 (+1.7% y/y).

The private-sector job openings rate held for the third
consecutive month at 2.8%, up versus the recession low of 1.7%. The job
openings rate in professional & business services fell to 3.5% versus
its December high of 4.3%. In leisure & hospitality, the rate fell to
2.8%, a one year low. The rate in education & health services
recovered to 3.3%. In manufacturing the rate again fell to 2.0%, off
sharply from the March high of 2.5%. The job openings rate in government
retreated to 1.6% from the recent high of 1.8%.

Reversing an earlier sign of improvement, the hires rate fell to
3.1%, the lowest level since July of last year but still up from the
recession low of 2.8%. The hires rate is the number of hires during the
month divided by employment. The hires rate in the private sector fell
sharply m/m to 3.5% and the government's rate fell back to 1.3%. In
leisure & hospitality, the hiring rate continued quite firm at 5.1%
but the factory sector hires rate held at an economic recovery low of
1.9%. In education & health services, the rate fell to a still
relatively high 2.4%. Overall hires in the private sector fell a
sharp 4.9% (-2.3% y/y). Professional & business services hires fell 5.7%
(-5.3% y/y) while leisure & hospitality hires dropped 7.0% (-5.6%
y/y).

The job separations rate dropped to 3.0%, a nine month low. The
actual number of separations declined 7.6% (-1.6% y/y. Separations
include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations as well as
retirements. The layoff & discharge rate alone slipped to
1.3%, about what it's averaged for over a year. The private sector layoff
rate was 1.4% while in government it was a lower 0.4%.

The JOLTS survey dates only to December 2000 and the figures are
available in Haver's USECON database.